Top 5 Shmups

JJG · Post by **JJG** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 12:07 am

What are your top 5 favorite console shmups of all time, and why?

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 12:12 am

For a relatively recent overview of this forum's choices, you might want to look here and here.

JJG · Post by **JJG** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 12:14 am

cool thanks, didn't see that.

rolins · Post by **rolins** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 12:23 am

My list is always changing. There's alot of shooters that I like, but I could never decide which 5 are my all-time fav. If I had to give one, the top spot would always be reserved for Zanac (msx1).

jp · Post by jp » Tue Oct 10, 2006 6:19 am

1. Radiant Silvergun
2. Batsugun
3. Blast Wind
4. Hyper Duel
5. Soukyuugurentai

neorichieb1971 · Post by **neorichieb1971** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 7:11 am

jp wrote:1. Radiant Silvergun
2. Batsugun
3. Blast Wind
4. Hyper Duel
5. Soukyuugurentai

All pre 2000

Ceph · Post by **Ceph** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 8:39 am

neorichieb1971 wrote:
jp wrote:1. Radiant Silvergun
2. Batsugun
3. Blast Wind
4. Hyper Duel
5. Soukyuugurentai
All pre 2000

That's because JP is married to a Sega Saturn. And he refuses to cheat on it with a PS2

JJG · Post by **JJG** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 12:15 pm

That's an expensive top 5

Turrican · Post by **Turrican** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 12:56 pm

neorichieb1971 wrote:
jp wrote:1. Radiant Silvergun
2. Batsugun
3. Blast Wind
4. Hyper Duel
5. Soukyuugurentai
All pre 2000

Why, the newest must always be the better ones?

UnscathedFlyingObject · Tue Oct 10, 2006 1:27 pm

Ceph wrote:
neorichieb1971 wrote:
jp wrote:1. Radiant Silvergun
2. Batsugun
3. Blast Wind
4. Hyper Duel
5. Soukyuugurentai
All pre 2000
That's because JP is married to a Sega Saturn. And he refuses to cheat on it with a PS2

That's so right it's almost wrong.

JJG · Post by **JJG** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 1:39 pm

My list would be similar but I'd probably throw Ikaruga somewhere in there.

Fighter17 · Post by **Fighter17** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 1:48 pm

I really can't make a 2-5 top list, but I know my favorite shmup would be Battle Garegga.

neorichieb1971 · Post by **neorichieb1971** » Wed Oct 11, 2006 1:05 am

I thought that most peoples top 5 would include something post 2000. In fact I think I would have put a bet on it.

Newest doesn't mean best, but some fine examples of shmups have been released this decade.

jp · Post by jp » Wed Oct 11, 2006 1:22 am

neorichieb1971 wrote:I thought that most peoples top 5 would include something post 2000. In fact I think I would have put a bet on it.

Newest doesn't mean best, but some fine examples of shmups have been released this decade.

Outside of Border Down... nothing thats come out post 2000 would even make my top 10.

Then again, I really don't like manics. Rather, I don't like manics that aren't doujin, which is really weird. (Since I enjoy Gunranger X, the Kenta Cho games, and the ABA games).

Edit:

Actually, lemme' change that.

01. Radiant Silvergun
02. Batsugun
03. Hyper Duel
04. Blast Wind
05. Border Down

There you go. I do like Border Down more than Souky... I just didn't remember it. The rest of the list would look like:

06. Mars Matrix
07. Soukyuugurentai
08. Game Tengoku
09. Nexzr
10. ... I really can't think of what I would put here. Maybe Metal Black? Hmm... dunno.

CMoon · Post by **CMoon** » Wed Oct 11, 2006 3:27 am

neorichieb1971 wrote:
jp wrote:1. Radiant Silvergun
2. Batsugun
3. Blast Wind
4. Hyper Duel
5. Soukyuugurentai
All pre 2000

What's wrong with pre-2000? I think the golden age of shmups was late 80's - mid 90's. That said, there are some gorgeous gems that have come out after that date (some among my favorites), but I feel that one could make a very strong list of shmups that don't go past the year 1993.

neorichieb1971 · Post by **neorichieb1971** » Wed Oct 11, 2006 3:40 am

Doesnt say much for the genre though does it?

Admittedly some pre 2000 shmups would hit my top 5, but not all of them.

FRO · Post by **FRO** » Wed Oct 11, 2006 10:02 pm

First, my list:

1. Lightening Force / Thunderforce IV
2. Layer Section / Rayforce / Galactic Attack
3. Raiden II
4. Fire Shark
5. Galaga

Now, my reasons:

1. All-time favorite shmup. It thrilled me as a teen, & I still really enjoy it. My favorite game music of all time, excellent graphics, spot-on gameplay, a wide range of difficulty, & lots of variety in the levels put this one at the top.
2. Though not my first Saturn shmup experience, it was the one that sold me on why I should have bought a Saturn years before. Addictive gamepley & awesome music.
3. One of the games that kept me interested in shmups during a lean time, financially, I would ALWAYS plug a few quarters into this when seeing it in an arcade or restaurant. It's just fun.
4. Probably one of the most balanced games I've ever played (yeah, I know this game gets that alot), the difficulty seems to curve perfectly, there's no odd scoring mechanics to make you worry about, no fancy special weaponry, just good old spread gun, lasers, flame thrower, & bombs. Good, memorable music, competent graphics, & enough breaks in the action to make you thankful for them.
5. The one that started it all for me - my first shmup, & another one that I will almost always plug a quarter or two into when I see it in the arcade or at a restaurant. Memorable theme, interesting ship capture gameplay mechanic (that surprisingly didn't get copied more), & just loads of simple shooting goodness.

NAVVARR · Post by **NAVVARR** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 10:00 pm

Gradius Gaiden- anyone?- probably the best of the Gradius series.

What about the original R-Type- still very playable after 20 years.